Rules
In order to battle, robots must meet the following specifications:1- Weigh less than 2lbs. The lighter the better, the motors we will be using can't lift much.
2- May only use the following "weapons" to flip their opponent or push them out of the arena:
- a wedge
- lifting arm
- grappling arm
- sweeping arm
3- All parts of the robot, including wheels and weapons, must fit within an 8 inch cube. Thus the entire robot must be less than 8in x 8in x 8in.
4- The brain of the robot must use an Arduino Uno or Arduino Uno compatible board.
5- Owners may use Arduino shields to assist in the construction of their robot.
6- Approved control methods include the following:
- Infrared
- Bluetooth
- Control pad with cable
7- The body of the robot must be constructed of one of the following materials:
- Cardboard
- Foam board (foam core)
- Plastic
8- All robots must have a designated "bottom" indicated by a blue dot or sticker to indicate when the robot has been flipped.
9- The main body of the robot must be no more that 2 inches above the ground. This gives designers a standard to build their weapons to.
Recommendations
This section outlines recommendations for building your robot.
1- Servo motors are the least complicated to use with Arduino, since they can be run directly off the control pins. DC motors may be used, but require additional circuitry to prevent burning up your Arduino. Servos also have the appropriate amount of torque for the application we are using them in.
2- Keep your robot in a state that it may be flipped. Keep it as light as possible and pick a shape that is easy to determine if it has been flipped. No one wants the victory of a battle to be in doubt because of a technicality.
3- We are not trying to destroy each other's robots, so keep that in mind as you design your weapons. The robots seen in Battlebots cost thousands of dollars, most of the builders you will be battling don't have that kind of money to throw around!
2- Keep your robot in a state that it may be flipped. Keep it as light as possible and pick a shape that is easy to determine if it has been flipped. No one wants the victory of a battle to be in doubt because of a technicality.
3- We are not trying to destroy each other's robots, so keep that in mind as you design your weapons. The robots seen in Battlebots cost thousands of dollars, most of the builders you will be battling don't have that kind of money to throw around!
